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The guitar case market seems to be pretty variable these days. I have a commission that needs a 14-fret OM sized case. Just want a decent case, nothing super fancy but not a cheapy either. What are you guys buying now? Thanks!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Access and TkL are both good and economical

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I usually find cases on eBay. They have quite a few OM cases listed from $99 - $1500.
If a Guild case would work this one might be decent:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/364289174951?h ... R9T5kdzOYg

Thanks guys, looks like the TKL Performer will fit the bill for this one. I usually get Hiscox but that's a bit more than the guy wants to spend.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

TKL has my vote too. Hiscox no longer distributes to the US but the pro 2 would have been my top choice a few years back.

Hiscox will ship from the UK but it's expensive

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I’m glad TKL let’s you order right from the site for standard shapes. No shipping and no tax, at least to oHIo.


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I have a nephew who works at TKL, so I’m biased, but it really is a good choice at a few different price levels.

TKL Performer is a three latch flat top case with fake fur lining and a hard plastic handle. Bottom of the line. IMHO, a Silver Creek Vintage style from Musician's Friend or Guitar Center is a better case for less money. Six latches, arch top, green crushed velour lining, leather handle.

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John

Thanks John, I’ll take a look at those.


Steve

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I also use the Silver Creek. Used to be $80 but inflation makes them about $130 now. Still a good deal. Just got one in this week.

I tend to go for the hard foam cases these days, light and reasonably priced.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Based on above recommendations I ordered my first Tkl case yesterday from their website. At checkout I found a nice surprise discount (first time buyer maybe) and got a follow up email saying it would be shipped on this coming Monday. Surprise, surprise….it came today less than 24 hours after ordering it.
Happy camper here and will do repeat biz with them
Tom

New case day following finished guitar day!
Looking for a case- most plywood cases have more than doubled in price since COVID. I agree with John Arnold; the silver creek is more case for less money and has six latches. This case had a 4.7 star review with 250 5-star reviews out of 329 reviews. On sale 20% off was $110 shipped. Thanks for the heads up.

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

On a related note, does an expensive/ custom case give a higher perceived value to a hand-built instrument? Put another way, would a custom or more expensive case provide a buyer with a better first impression of the custom-made instrument inside? I just wonder if a buyer might ask; "if its such a good guitar, why is it in a cheap-azz case. THats what I got to thinking after showing one of my guitars in a cheap case to dealer.

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Karl I agree with you and went with mid-level cases for my Heshtones. Don't know if they are even in business anymore but I used customized Cedar Creek cases and my clients loved them. They have also held up very well for nearly 20 years now and back then they were not expensive IIRC around $350 if you ordered at least three but that was a long time ago. Last I know I thought that TKL bought them.

I had a terrible experience with Ameritage and they remain the heaviest cases I have ever encountered. We see them in our repair business and the owners and I often refer to them as ball busters....

My Cedar Creek cases included custom badges on the outside and in the pic the badges look better in person these still had the protective covering on them.

I used black for Dreads and genuine, imitation alligator... for My OM's, L-OOs and SJs.

Stunning guitar Hesh. Cedar Creek still has a website, but it seems to have been "abandoned".

EDIT: After a number of minutes, the website redirected, although there was no buying opportunity from their website.
https://cedarcreekcases.com/

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Yeah sorry if I led you astray Karl but the point I really wanted to make is that presentation is everything. Small builders don't have over 100 years of history to point to like Martin, we are unknown for the most part and our ability to warranty our work is completely dependent on our life spans unless one makes other arrangements that will live on after we do.

There are a lot of reasons to not buy from a small builder who is unknown and does not have famous clients. We create another reason to take a pass on our stuff when we ourselves don't believe in the value that we provide.

This is why I was always against selling anything for less than a going rate or for material costs. Give it away if you're going to do that and make someone even happier but never, never devalue your/our own value there will be plenty of people who may attempt to do that.

So I would go for decent cases for sure and agree with you. I showed pics of a Heshtone in the case because the case is the very first impression a buyer or maybe prospective buyer will get, it should be a great impression.

FWIW, I’ve been using the TKL Pro-Form cases for the last few 00’s. They are $270, an upgrade from the TKL traditional hard shell case, and I have been replacing the badge with my own:



If nothing else, it gave me a reason to explore aluminum work on the CNC.

Check those cases, you might like it for a slight upgrade. Plus free and fast shipping which is always a plus.

Brad


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Gordon French (718-877-8652 or gfrench@tkl.com) is now the interface for Cedar Creek custom cases. I ordered one from him last week.

I spent some time looking for cases for my current trio. Not a standard size case. After ordering 2 cases with lousy published incomplete dimensions, that, by the numbers should have fit but didn't and had to be returned with shipping costs I ran across Crossrock. Made in China, oh well.

They gave better and more thorough dimensions and the case fit perfectly based on them.

It's a fiberglass case, light weight and well appointed with some simple features often overlooked.

The latches work more smoothly than most, TSA lock on one. The inside of the hinges are covered with fabric, a nice touch. Even the lid strap has a pleat in it so when you close the case the lid strap goes INSIDE the case.

I used to use Hiscox Artist but they stopped importing (heard they are supposed to start again).

So far I'm really liking the Crossrock a lot. This is the only one I've tried. Not cheap but much less than comparables.

https://crossrockcase.com/product/fiberglass-classical-guitar-case-4-4-full-size/

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Brian these look great they look like a $1,000 case but are much less. Great find!

Thanks to Woodie on this very forum I've been buying Hiscox cases from Thomann in Germany. Shipping is less than domestic retail. Price is similar to GC with 15% off coupon (pre-pandemic when Hiscox was still distributed in US)

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Stay with the happy people.
--Reynolds Large

I like the Hiscox cases and they've been sending me emails with 10% off. Price comes out to about $300 whether you get it from Hiscox for Thomann. That is competitive with the nicer cases (Martin, etc.).

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

There was a good Deal on Silver Creek Vintage Dreadnought Archtop Case $69 for Memorial Day '24 at MUSICIANS FRIEND. My timing was good.

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum